Texas Thanksgiving, Greenburg, Bodacious, Whataburger and All.

This blog took long enough, huh?

We went to Texas for Thanksgiving to see Jim's Grandparents. Which means Reagan had her first plane ride. I don't think she even noticed! We stayed in Denver the night before our flight because we heard a snowstorm was coming. Was it ever! It took them about an hour to de-ice our plane...a process which seems like it should only take about 15-20 minutes. Hopefully all the people with connecting flights made it home in time for Thanksgiving.

Here is our family portrait from the plane (thanks Mikey...or was it Julie??)

We ate our way through Texas, making sure not to miss the traditional favorites. Of course, there was Greenburg at the Lamb's. I decided that from now on, I'll be eating mine with barbecue sauce, pickles and onions. We got to go to Donna and Gary's (Jim's aunt and uncle) for authentic Tamales...a new tradition. And, as is usual, we stopped at Bodacious for lunch on Black Friday. We even went shopping, but to Jim's delight, I bought nothing. And you better believe we didn't miss the Whataburger on our way out of town. For the record, I'm not crazy about Whataburger. To me, it doesn't beat a Carl's Jr. Famous Star with cheese. And their onion rings don't even come close. Rather, it's the tradition of being in Texas and eating Whataburger that excites me. Strangely, it makes the trip feel complete. I suppose it's hearing all the stories about Jim and Julie having to stop there when they were kids, and hearing Julie and Debbie call it "Waterburger".

We had a great Thanksgiving (3 to be exact), and it was great to see everyone!

Here we are with the Lambs

And the Reeds.

Thanks to everyone who fed us! :) Hope your Thanksgivings were equally delicious.

And, for those of you who are wondering, Reagan is now crawling forward!!! She army crawled for the first time to her Aunt Julie. She will take a couple of "real crawling" strides forward and then she realizes she can get there easier by army crawling. Her new target: Scout. If only she were quick enough.

Yesterday she pulled herself up to stand. Her favorite way to try to get somewhere is
on her hands and feet. So...how long until Reagan walks??

Tricks!

Not much to say tonight.
I mostly just wanted to show and tell the new tricks that Reagan is learning.
In the last 2 weeks she has learned to:

wave andhold on to furniture while standing up (when she does these things together it makes everyone a littler nervous...)

get up on all fours (and move quickly...backwards)

and give kisses. There aren't any pictures of this yet, but I'm sure they'll come in time. It's funny because she does the open-mouthed, slobery, baby kiss. But she does it upon request, which is the cool part. :)

And I guess I just thought she looked too cute and grown up in this fancy black outfit. (And look! She finally has grown some hair!)

We are going to Texas next weekend. Any tips for babies on planes are certainly welcome and appreciated!

You may also notice our new ottoman. It's awesome! It stores all of Reagan's toys...slowly but surely we're getting our living room back.

Thanks to Bill for the new profile picture. :)

Oops, I forgot something.

I was looking through the pictures and realized I forgot to mention Reagan's newest favorite activity...pushing buttons. Of any sort. Especially the buttons she sees Mom and Dad pushing frequently; the laptop, remote, and cell phones.

I snapped these pictures of Jim trying to contain her from attacking the laptop, and his reaction when he was unsuccessful. I felt they were too good to leave out!

Nearly Crawling, Constantly Grunting

It's hard to believe that Halloween has already come and gone!I am dreading writing this, especially after everyone was nice enough to vote in the poll about Reagan's Halloween costume, but, she didn't get to have one. Jim and I decided that it was hard to justify spending $20+ on a costume that she would only wear for an hour or so... So I found a good compromise outfit. I thought she could wear it on thanksgiving too, since it's more of a "fall" outfit than a Halloween specific outfit. It has Pooh coming out of a pumpkin. (Winnie the Pooh, sillies.) ;) On Monday night, Mikey and Julie came over and helped us carve pumpkins. When I say us, I mean me. There was one for each of the 3 of us, and I got my pumpkin topped and carved, and I gave up. I always end up cutting myself, so I figured it'd be safer to let Mikey have his way with it. And I must say, he did a much better job at the Longhorn than I could have.Reagan stayed up for the trick or treaters, and got to watch the dogs (Scout and Tank) get excited every time there was a knock at the door.Last night one of Jim's co-workers had a bar-b-cue at his house. Reagan got to go and meet everyone, and despite being away from home most of the day (we also went to a baby shower in the afternoon) she was extremely well behaved. I was so proud of her! She barely made a peep the whole time we were there. I even forgot to bring toys for her, so she sat on the floor with some Tupperware lids and a few old toys the hostess was able to find for her. She couldn't have been more content.

Her new favorite sound is grunting. Not cute, little baby noises, but full out grunting. As if she were a cantankerous old man! She does it all the time, especially when she is displeased with something. It's hilarious! She has mostly mastered creeping backwards. She can't seem to get the concept of one limb IN FRONT OF the other....but the backwards is no problem. She gets herself up onto all fours and rocks. I know she's trying. And she gets plenty frustrated when it doesn't work...so I'm guessing it won't be long....oh my. Our house and dog are not ready for a mobile child!

I know, I know...

3 blogs in one day probably seems a little excessive.

But, I'm going back to work tomorrow, so who knows when I'll have time again.

Plus, I promised a video of Reagan sometime soon. So, here is one of her eating her puffs. I thought it was a cute one!! I used my cell phone for it. I still can't figure out how to get my webcam to record something small enough to be used. Anyway, there is sound, so if you have it, turn it up!!

Deals (More like STEALS)!

For those of you who have not used Craigs List before, (which is probably none of you, because I think I was the last person I know to be successful with this...) I highly recommend it.
Last week I got a Bundle Me (seen above) and a bunch of clothes in sizes 6-12 months for Reagan. The Bundle Me is a sort of "kid sack" that goes into the car seat, stroller, baby jogger, etc. that has holes for safety straps and harnesses and zips around her to keep her warm in the winter (or fall, when it's snowing.) It retails for about $40.00. Mine is gently used, zippers work perfectly, and I got it for $20. I also got 30 items of clothing for $48 total. Jeans, pajamas, shirts, sweaters, a hat....I am SO excited. (By the way, that is less than 63 cents per item...in case you weren't impressed by the initial numbers.) Obviously all the clothes wouldn't fit in this picture, but this is a sampling:
I suppose The Lamb Way can even be taught to me. :)

SNOW!!!

Would you believe it's snowing here? I suppose you would if you've ever lived in our lovely state. Last night it started raining around 10:00 and it continued to rain...when I woke up at 2:00am (WHAT?) with Reagan (it's her new favorite time of the day...) it was snowing as if it were March. (That's when we usually get the big, heavy, wet snows here.) So we went to church this morning and now are doing our best to stay dry and warm indoors.

We went to Durango on Friday, just for an excuse to get out of town. We left around 5:30 am, and arrived in my college town at about 11:30. It usually only takes 5-5.5 hours, but having to stop to feed Rea slowed us down a bit. We only stayed one night, and it's a good thing. The wind was blowing so hard on the way home we ended up getting nearly 38 miles/gallon!!! (Partly because the wind was at our back, but partly because we were in my awesome Subaru.) I didn't take a single picture in Durango! I guess it was becuase we were too busy visiting.

Today, though, since it was snowing, I decided it would be a good time to see if Reagan's sweaters made by her Auntie (code for Great Aunt) Carol fit yet. They do! She has a little room to grow, but they'll be perfect for the winter. So, thanks again to Carol for her two pretty sweaters. I guess this post is mostly for her, so she can see how cute she looks in them!

I'm also including a picture I took last week while waiting for a girl to show up for her senior pictures. Happy Fall! (Complete with snow for some of us!)

6 Months!

I can't believe that Reagan turned 6 months old on Monday. It seems like I'm always in disbelief when another month passes us by. She's growing so much, and developing so fast.
I had this last week off (and the next one too) for fall break. It has been so nice to spend some time with Reagan. It makes it a littler harder to go back to work, but it's nice to know that in another 9 weeks, I'll have 2 more off. (Not to mention the 5 day break for Thanksgiving!) So far, the break has kept me extremely busy taking pictures....a very good thing. I had my first wedding last Saturday. It went well, I think. It's hard to know until the pictures are delivered. I've learned a good lesson though: this will be the last time I give anyone a CD with all their pictures on it without charging a hefty sum of cash for it. But, it's been a good learning experience all around.

Reagan went to the doctor on Thursday for her last round of shots for awhile! She surprised us all by coming in at 16 pounds, 8.5 ounces and 26 and 3/4 inches! I had someone tell me their kid wasn't that big until they were 1! She's such a big girl, but the doctor always says how good she looks, and is always sure to tell me that she's not TOO big. Her eyes are starting to get a little more gray and have a few more flecks of green in them. I'm really excited to see what she finally ends up with. She sits up all by herself, rolls all over the place, and is showing the beginning signs of being ready to crawl. We got the go-ahead to try to get her to start feeding herself a little. So, I figured it was time to buy her an actual high chair, instead of the bumbo seat. She seemed to like it--and I do too, because it gives me her full and undivided attention for feeding. Much less messy.

The outfit she's wearing in the pictures says "SuperFan". it's a Tee shirt that Cross Country sold as a fundraiser a few years ago. I decided I wanted to make it into an outfit for Reagan. So, I cut it out and Mom sewed it, and I sewed snaps on it. It was so fun! And everyone loved her in it. :)

I got a new laptop, which I love, and it seems to have come at the perfect time because we found out last night that Jim's is on its last legs. So, luckily, the blog can continue. :) And, as you can see, it has a webcam, so we can catch Reagan doing cute things, and you can watch as if you were here in person! All the ones I have so far are too big to put in here, but stay tuned, and there will be a video here soon.

Fall is officially here, so I figured it was time to change these colors to reflect the change around us!

And the winner is...

The results of the last poll are in! Jim wins...hands down. Closely resembling my fantasy football luck, he won 5-0. I kind of think, though, that it's because people haven't seen my baby pictures...or maybe my parents don't remember what I looked like as a kid. But, I swear, I have no bias. :) Anyway, there are 2 new polls this week, so be sure to check them out and cast your votes.

Last weekend (or was it the weekend before??) I bought Reagan her favorite toy yet: a jumperoo. She LOVES that thing. It's like the old "Johnny Jup-Ups" that used to hang from doorways, but safer. It's suspended by 3 poles, and when she jumps it plays animal sounds (my favorite is, of course, the monkey) and songs.



I got to play in the "studio" that I've started in my basement. I think I need to get another light though because there doesn't seem to be enough. I finally found use for the little bit of hair Reagan has had since she was born. I found some ribbons for it at a garage sale I went to last weekend. The hair is the longest on her head, so if I put it in just right, she becomes our little Pebbles. (Guess that makes her friend Waylon Bam Bam?) I also think, after seeing the spiders and the cricket I vacuumed up before starting the pictures, that we need to do some kind of pest control. Ick!


Speaking of spiders, last weekend we had a HUGE one that spun a HUGE web right outside our front door. I stepped outside for something or other, and happened to look up and see the sucker. I don't think I've ever seen one that big that wasn't in a cage or a zoo. Ick! Again!!

Anyway, Reagan is nearly 6 months old!! I can't believe it. Falcon's homecomming is next week...that should be good and crazy. It's always so exciting though. And this school has a ton of traditions that seem VERY exciting. Hopefully I can get Reagan's "SuperFan" outfit made (it's an adult medium tee-shirt that Mom is going to help me sew into a onsie...I'll keep you posted on that one.) in time for the meet on Friday.


Speaking of my parents, if you haven't already heard, my Dad was diagnosed with Lymphoma last week. He's been in the hospital since last Wednesday, and on chemo since Monday. Things are going extremely well for him. Please pray for that to continue. They say if you're going to get cancer, this is "the one to get", so to speak. It's extremely treatable, and very curable. Hopefully
he will continue to respond as well as he has been! In an attempt to help when we have felt pretty helpless, we have been watching Tank, Mom and Dad's rottweiller. He is, despite appearances, a total sweetie...all 130 lbs of him. He LOVES Reagan, and he even tollerates Scout's constant body-slamming competitions. It's been nice to have a "foster-dog" during the week.

First Swim!

Last weekend (Labor Day) we took a trip up to Breckenridge with Jim's mom, dad, sister, and Mikey. I didn't take a single picture!! But luckily, others did...especially considering we took Reagan for her first swim.

The place where we stayed is called Beaver Run. It had several hot tubs and 2 swimming pools. The pool where Reagan swam the first time was one of those fancy half indoor/half outdoor pools, and it was heated. She wasn't too sure what to think. I think she thought it felt like a bath, but with strange clothes on and mom and dad in the HUGE tub with her. We had a blast with her. We tried again the next day, but she seemed as though she had had just about enough of vacation. Personally, I think she was missing Scout.

Vacations with a baby wear us out! I'm grateful that we're not doing anything for awhile....although there has been talk about heading down to Durango in October since I get two weeks off...but then again, there's also been talk about doing the kitchen floor. Either way, I'm sure you'll be able to read about whatever we do here!

*Thanks to Mikey (for his camera) and Julie (for using it) for the pictures in this post.

Reagan's First Boyfriend

Over the summer, a good friend of mine that I worked with in Ellicott had a baby boy named Waylon. He was born on June 21st, so he's a little younger than Reagan. He came over to play last Friday and I got some pretty cute pictures of the two of them together. Jim keeps saying, Reagan, No Boys. I think my dad might have to take him shot-gun shopping...he, after all, has it down.

Busy Busy Busy

Wow...when was the last time I blogged?? 2 weeks ago?? So much has happened!

Reagan seems to suddenly be developing at a break-neck pace. She has started reaching for things, which I guess she's been doing for awhile, but she's starting to make contact more frequently. I've considered cutting my hair, as when it's down it seems to be her favorite target. I think I'll just be leaving it up for awhile. Earings are also high on her list. Even more exciting though is the aquarium toy we've had on her car seat on and off since she was born. It has fish dangling from it. They're pretty small, and they seem to be far away. Thinking back to when we brought her home from the hospital, I remember thinking, "I wonder how long it will be before she's playing with that." Well, my answer came this weekend. She loves to hold on to them and stare at them.

She has also made contact with her bottle using both hands. She is able to hold it in her mouth at an appropriate angle for a few seconds. That's a pretty exciting feat...I suppose sippy cups are not far around the corner.

She has still only rolled over twice more since the first night. I'm not sure why she's so behind in this area, but we've been giving her more "tummy time" in an effort to encourage her to do it more.

She ate her first "real" food this weekend, also. She had her first taste of peas yesterday. She made quite the face, but seemed not to mind too much. I told her that when she's older I'll let her eat them with butter and salt and that then they would tase much better. Luckily, she doesn't know what she's missing, and the peas and water combo seems to be just fine. She ate much more peas today...almost half of what was left in the jar, which was most of it. She seemed impatient to have the next bite in her mouth and she couldn't eat it fast enough. So, I kept feeding her the peas until she was too upset, and then resorted to a bottle. She did eat quite a bit. Any advice and/or help in this area would be much appreciated...I don't have much experience here! Especially as far as how many feedings I replace with solids, or if I replace any at all... It's confusing me a lot!

Last weekend (and this weekend, for that matter) were mostly spent working on our yard. My mom and dad bought us some flagstone for our back yard for Jim's birthday. So last Saturday we put the flagstone down and then planted some thyme in between the rocks, all under Reagan's close supervision. She had to make sure it was done correctly, after all. I'm so excited for next Spring to see what the garden ends up looking like! I have before, during, and after pictures here. As you can see, it made a HUGE difference! It's so nice to not just have dirt down. I wish I had taken before and after shots for all the projects we have done, as our back yard was pretty much a pile of dirt when we bought the house. It looks completely different now!

School is going better. The school is great; so many opportunities for kids! It's still not easy to be missing so much time with Reagan, but I'm lucky to have the set-up that we do. Katie is absolutely wonderful, and our moms have been gracious enough to help out a few days a month, which eases the financial strain of having an in-house nanny. (And it helps grandmas to get their baby fixes.) I've also been asked to help out part time with the cross country team. It's nice to finally have my 5 years of coaching experience and certifications finally be appreciated somewhere. The head coach is great, he just needs me 2 days a week and for meets. And he doesn't even mind if Reagan comes for practice! So Katie will bring her to school on Mondays and Thursdays, and Reagan will come help me coach. She has been to one practice already, and she loved it. She sat in the stroller, "talked" to all the kids (and they absolutely loved her), and then promptly took a nap. I think it will work out just fine.

Hope you're all well!

Rollie Pollie Ollie!

Reagan rolled over! Twice! I don't think I've ever been so proud. The first time was the best because I put her down on her tummy, and all of a sudden she was leaning, and before I could even get Jim's attention, she was on her back. Luckily, though, he was already looking. It was so great! We had to make her try again. It took her awhile, and she got a little frustrated and needed a break, but in the end made it over once more. I don't think she's realized what she did...or if she did she seemed pretty nonchalant about the whole thing. Kind of like, "What Mom? I've been doing this forever. No big deal!"

Freshmen had their first day of school today...luckily I don't have any so I got an extra day to work.

Tomorrow is when the real excitement begins.

YAY for Reagan!!